Teams, agents wonder about Brady deal

When I first heard about Peter King’s report that the Patriots had signed quarterback Tom Brady to a three-year, $27 million extension, I assumed the deal was worth $27 million per year.

It’s not. For committing to the Patriots in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons, Brady gets a total of $27 million.

It appears, as explained last night, to be nothing more than an effort to reduce Brady’s cap number in 2013 and 2014, the final two years of his existing deal. It’s hard to spread money over the years of a contract if the contract covers only two more seasons. Come 2015, the likely reality is that a new deal will be done — after the appearance that Brady has taken less is used to squeeze other players into doing the same thing, which the Pats did masterfully last decade.

Still, teams and agents are looking at the numbers and wonder what else could be going on. Whispers of a side deals already have begun in league circles, even though there is (and likely will be) no proof of a wink-nod arrangement that will see Brady get compensated in other ways.

Sides deals aren’t unprecedented in pro football. The Broncos lost a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and paid a $950,000 for violations relating to $29 million in deferred payments to John Elway and Terrell Davis during the team’s Super Bowl window of the late 1990s. Again, there is (and likely will be) no proof of a side deal in this case.

Now that more and more teams are pressed against the salary cap and trying to finagle spending space, suspicions of side arrangements and briefcases full of cash will return to the NFL — even if no team is ever caught or is ever guilty.

In Brady’s case, the facts as presently known raise natural red flags. At a time when the high-water mater for quarterbacks is $20 million, the notion that Brady would commit to playing for less than half that average over a three-year window starting three seasons from now makes no sense.

At a minimum, agent Don Yee has provided his competitors with more than enough ammunition for the inherently cutthroat game of chasing new clients. At a maximum, teams and agents will probe for something/anything to explain why Tom Brady was willing to sign a contract that pays him so much less than he’ll be worth starting two years from now.

Maybe, in the end, the explanation is that, given his wife’s obscene earnings, he’s willing to take a lot less money in order to help that Pats stack the deck for another Super Bowl run or two.

I think people are missing a point on all this BB uses the league rules and creates advantages for the Pats. He has done it again. Tom wants to win he wants one or more SB rings. He likes to take any competitive advantage he can, he and BB pulled it off again. The haters will say belicheat and all that BS but using the leagues rules in innovative ways is not cheating it is gaining a competitive advantage. It is good business. Bravo to BB and TB using this to make the Pats stronger for another 5 years. Go Pats

Where was this story the last time Brady reconstructed? Does it not seem possible that it’s just because Brady wants to retire as a Patriot and would do anything to make it happen? Or maybe he wants one of his best friends to stay on team? It’s called sacrifice for the team…it’s not like this is the first time Brady has done this. SMH at the naysayers and accusers.

I guess when you cheat to win. A la spygate. It just becomes a way of life. Now we have salarygate! Somebody better get over to them pats super bowl trophies and start shining them. Cause they have all kinds of tarnish on them. The Steelers meanwhile glisten and look shiny and new! Buenos diaz!

Brady’s been getting around $10-15 million per year from football for roughly the past decade.
He’s made tens of millions more in endorsements outside of football.

While most of his fellow players marry wives who earn much, much less than them (if they work at all), Brady’s wife averages $30+ million per year in earnings BY HERSELF.

Is it really that hard for people to believe that Brady said to himself, “Well, I’ve got maybe 3-5 years left in my career. Perhaps, I should accept a contract extension that leaves my annual salary at ‘only’ around $10 million per year from now on in exchange for dramatically increasing the chances of me winning another Super Bowl by increasing our cap room.

Sure, that means think my wife and I have to survive on ‘only’ $50+ million in combined annual earnings instead of the $70+ million per year we could earn if I demanded a raise. It’ll be tough, but I think we can squeeze our pennies enough to make it work in exchange for keeping Wes Welker and signing other free agents.”

At some point, money becomes secondary to personal life goals. And I have no trouble believing that point is roughly $50+ million in household earnings.

I’m sure you’ll be the first to know when the truth is revealed. what ever it takes make it happen lie cheat and steal all in a days work. The most corrupt state in the country. The guy crys to the refs every time someone touches his jersey walks around with that petchulant look on his face like he’s untouchable. The way it’s been written lately they can’t win when playing on an equal playing field someone call time out it’s 4th down

Hilarious comments already. Brady did a simple restructure to reduce this years cap charge from $21 million to $1 million. Had the Pats not extended his contract, Brady would have cost the Pats $11 million this year ($1 mil salary, $10 mil prorated sign bonus) and next year, Brady would cost his $22 million salary and the other $10 mill prorated from this year which would bring his cap charge to $32 million next year. By adding the 3 years, the $20 million is spread over 5 years instead of 2 making this years charge $6 million.

The problem the Pats are going to face is when Brady retires. The new years at such low money looks like that is when Brady will retire. If the Pats simple restructure next year, which will again be likely, the future proration from 2013 will be $10 million and another $20 million for 2014 (which they would not have been able to do without the extra years added this year).

That means, if Brady retires after the 2014 season the Pats will have up to $30 million in dead money in 2015.

Stop with the sacrafice for the team nonsense already. When you have a wife pulling in around $50 million a year it’s easier to “sacrifice” for the team. Just like Goodell sacraficed for his team ny taking a $1 salary during the lockout and then lo and behold he was getting a $30 million payout afterwards.

This is like you working with a guy who has a wife that’s heir to a multi million dollar corporation. The guy decides to take no raise to help out the team and management parades him around the office saying you see what Johnson did? He took no raise to help the team out. Why don’t you do the same? Maybe cause my wife ain’t worth $50 million that’s why.

So Bradys’ average income for the next five years is going to be what, 12-14 million? 99% of us will never make that in a lifetime, let alone in a year. The salaries in sports are obscene, no man is worth that kind of money unless he can cure cancer !! Yet it is what we, as paying fans, support on our real wages. If this deal was done to help the team, or to keep a friend around, my working mans hardhat is off to Tom Brady…

So when the pats take advantage of rules they are just genius’s that “figured it out when no one else could” but when the Redskins and cowboys take advantage of an uncapped year they get penalized cap space for two years? Even when there was no cap? I think the Brady deal is for real, he just built a huge L.A mansion with some sofa cushion money.

Or in the final run of his career he wants to help any way he can to ensure he’s in the best position to compete for a final championship. He’s aware he’s aging and there aren’t many ‘we’ll do it next year’ chances left. I’m not a Pats fan but it’s obvious in any interview and game I’ve seen that Brady really loves to win and hates to lose more than others.

Hello McFly! He did it to provide cap room to sign free agents and win. Whats so hard to understand? Guys desperate for a fourth ring so he is doing everything he can to get it. He’s already a multi-millionare what do you think is more important to him a few million bucks or a ring that makes him arguably the best QB to ever play?

Stop with the sacrafice for the team nonsense already. When you have a wife pulling in around $50 million a year it’s easier to “sacrifice” for the team. Just like Goodell sacraficed for his team ny taking a $1 salary during the lockout and then lo and behold he was getting a $30 million payout afterwards.

This is like you working with a guy who has a wife that’s heir to a multi million dollar corporation. The guy decides to take no raise to help out the team and management parades him around the office saying you see what Johnson did? He took no raise to help the team out. Why don’t you do the same? Maybe cause my wife ain’t worth $50 million that’s why.

So because Brady took way less than market value to stay with the Patriots, it’s sketchy? I’m failing to see why it’s so horrific. Was Brady bound to hold the team over the barrel to sign a 35/36 year old QB for $19m per? *cough Peyton Manning cough*

What if he didn’t want to do that? Maybe he told BB…”Hey, if I give you a break, you better put that to good use for my buddy Wes Welker. I don’t want you shipping him out of town, again leaving me stuck here while you surround me with the Reche Caldwells of the world.”

I think maybe he could resign another deal after the salary cap goes up in the next couple of years, but just because our neighbors to the south are idiots and can’t manage their cap, doesn’t mean we have to be the same way.

As usual – Pats fans think this will be the magic event that takes them back to Super Bowl Glory.
Sorry – this means absolutrly nothing.
As long as Tom ” I care more about my baby goat holding GQ fashion shoots than football” Brady is your qb…along with no spygate, defense, and the real MVP Adam V….you guys are on a downward trend.
Keep dreaming though.

Maybe Brady just wants to win again. How much money do these guys need? As mentioned above his wife has more money than him. You have to reach a point where it’s all about the ring. Wish Brees were more like this. Unfortunately most qbs do not want to win more than they want to get paid. Maybe that is why most qbs are not Tom Brady.

Belicheat is the last guy I would trust……but, just maybe……Tom is doing what we all wish our big-ticket QBs would do: realize $9 mil/yr is still plenty of money to live off of and take less money to keep a better team around him

Hahaha, yeah, Tom just wanted less money..get real Pats fans. The Mara’s & Kraft’s are always cheating the league…while they have Goodell (30million a yr) in their back pocket. I can’t wait till years from now when all this corruption hits the papers!

It’s not cheating it’s smart. If this deal were to allow them to sign Wallace and Nnamdi they would have a legit shot at going 19-0. Doing that would put Brady as a clear greatest ever and make him a lot more money in endorsements over the next forty years then the little money he would lose now. When you own a castle with a mote you can afford to make risks like this.

The Brady’s already have more money then they could spend in a lifetime – if you were Tom, what would you want?

An additional $ XXX million in the bank which will make no difference to your life in any way, shape or form – or one more Superbowl ring which would give credence to the argument for Brady being the best QB of all time.

My football history is fuzzy, but has any QB ever taken the same team to 7 SB’s and won 4 of them? I am guessing not. That is what Brady wants – not more $ on his bank statement.

Cue the cheating rants from the whiners rooting for other contenders who’s QBs and other big name talents have hamstrung their teams abilities to keep/attract more talent to make them more competitive.

You Patriot haters are going to have to endure BB, Brady and Kraft being in the mix for another four years. Get over it.

I think people are missing the point on all this. Brady has always been very jealous of other QBs, especially the younger ones and by signing this deal he makes sure to drop Flacco’s franchise tag number by quite a bit.

Makes no sense? How about since his wife makes 45 million a year and he makes 10-15 a year from Ugg and Under Armour he thought that maybe taking a pay cut for one of his salaries in order to be able compete for a championship for the rest of his career was worth it. I thin he is more concerned about his legacy than a new house.

Sometimes things really are as simple as they’re presented. Maybe he’s a 37 y/o QB with a limited window that’s made his money and knows his standing in the game is firm regardless of the size of his contract?? Maybe he wants to help the team build a winner around him and knows he can help with cap space….in his age 37 season…I don’t think it would matter to him if he wasn’t married to Giselle. He wants another ring and I don’t think he could live with himself knowing pieces had to leave because he just had to continue being the highest paid.

In a league where 36 y/o Peyton Manning is coming off of neck surgery and teams are still willing to throw a stake in the team at him I’d say someone went into this with a plan and I doubt it was the Pats. They’d be crazy if they approached him to take 9 mill a year.

I applaud the move for Tom Brady, it shows he really loves the team. I think it is a little disingenuous to pretend this move is done after two monster contracts. I always figured half the big money contracts was about ego anyways, I am the best pay me. Then after getting the money the restructure to get less money.

I go to bed last night reading praise from fans and football pundits and I wake up this morning to this. Because it’s the Pats of course something fishy must be going on? Give me a break. Every move and every story about the Pats is turned into an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. It’s a Patriots story so we might as well mention Spygate while we’re at it just for old times sake. Has Brady ever held out for top dollar, even with his first long term deal? Has he ever made it about the money? When your wife is a gazillionaire, money isn’t at the forefront of priorities. Brady hates losing more than anything in this world and what this does is give the Pats a chance to continue to surround Brady with players that will give him an easier job to win games. Period.

So because one of the best QB’s in the game takes “below market vaule” in pay (and who decides what that is anyways??) it must be illegal (in NFL circles). Here’s the issue with this:

1. No one is worth $27 million/year. No matter how good you think you are in a sport or any business. ALL sports people get paid way too much.

2. Maybe, just maybe, Brady wants to be the best and he knows that taking less money to help the team win is the best way for that. We see too many times people get a boat load of money and their team sucks. I mean, this still is a team sport correct?

As a diehard Vikings fan, I would wish my team would do this. 1 guy can’t make you a winner…unless it’s MVPeterson! Even then, all we got was the playoff’s, I would much rather have AP take less money, get us some WR, LB and DL help and watch us win a Superbowl……finally……

Brady is all class. He’s been doing things like this his whole career. The haters will hate because they have no choice but Brady continues to show why he’s everything you want you pro athletes to be. The guy wants to win and now for the second time has sacrificed his pay check for the sake of the team. It actually doesn’t surprise me.

I’m no Brady fan by any stetch, but I’m willing to believe he did this to help the team and still have the opportunity to win. It’s about time we started seeing big names sacrifice in order to help their teams. 20+ million a year is just absurd, I don’t care who you are. These players are killing their teams with the cap hit’s they put on them. Good job Brady.

It’s not like he needs the money, he has numerous endorsements and his wife is mega rich as well… Have you seen their house? I don’t think being the highest paid NFL QB is a big deal to him. Tom is smarter than the rest of these greedy NFL players who only want to fatten their own pockets instead of giving the team a little extra dough to sign other contributors to the roster. And you wonder why the Pats are always making the post season and SB appearances… other team/players are stupid, I wish more players had his mind set.

TB did it on the last deal too, below market value. Pioli was talking about it on NFLN last night how TB came in when Pioli and Yee were negotiating and got the deal done by suggesting something below market. Pioli also said that Yee shouldn’t get the “hit” for those below market deals because they are TB’s “fault”.

I cannot see the Pats ever ever doing anything again that invites real league scrutiny (as opposed to speculation about league scrutiny). They already know that Goodell won’t hesitate to smack them down in an unprecedented fashion for ignoring a memo.

Best quote TB said is that there is no wing in the HOF for the guys who made the most money. I choose to believe he’s sincere since he’s never done or said anything to suggest otherwise. The negative skeptical stance on this, I guess I get it. I just don’t think it applies here.

He wants to win and will help the team do that any way he can…Is that really so hard to believe? If reducing his yearly salary will help them keep Welker, then I think he’d do it…He wants to go out on top, and another Super Bowl win or two will cement that, and they are much closer to that keeping Welker, Talib, and Vollmer or at least having the cap room to go out and replace them effectively…Now it’s possible Brady went to Belichick and asked what he needed to do to retain Welker, was told he had to reduce his cap number, and signed off on that contract to make room for Welker, but I really don’t think this deal should raise any red flags

Did you at all consider that he may actually just be taking a huge cut in order to finally get the D he needs to get back to winning the Super Bowl? All you have to do is look over his history playing the game. All he ever talks about is winning. He ridiculously competitive (to a fault sometimes, I occasionally think, seeing his some of sideline rants). Maybe he’s looked at it, realized he’s only got a couple more years to tie is football idol in Super Bowl wins and has decided that between him and (mostly) his wife, he’s got more money than he will ever need. I guess I’ll wait and see as well, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. His entire football career shows he’s more worried about winning then pretty much anything else. This is, other than his play, the best way he can help his team (and himself) go down as one of the best over a decade and a half.

You all missed the ball on this one. That contract GUARANTEES Tom Brady $50 million in total. This is a milestone that no other player has ever accomplished. His contract is fully guaranteed. History in the making.

Article should have been called “Agents wonder about Brady deal. Teams jealous of Brady deal.”

The fact of the matter is that he helped out the Pats and added a few years to what his value will be at the end of the contract. Does anyone really think Manning is going to see the last three years of his deal pay him $20 million until he is past 40? That deal was a splash which would never happen. The Brady deal could actually last through the end of his career.

Ever think that maybe Brady thinks he has enough money? or that after not winning a Super Bowl for 10 years thinks of his legacy more than chasing every dollar? Do you think that as a 38 or 39 year old QB, that maybe 7M a year might be okay with him? More money than most of us make in a lifetime? Everyone looking for a great conspiracy here because it is the Patriots. If PAYton Manning or Big Ben did this, there would be nothing but praise. But it’s the Patriots, so let’s find something wrong.

It’s either very shrewd accounting, which the Patriots are known for, or some underhanded dealing, which the Patriots are always suspected of. Either way, I say good on them if it works and helps them win. It’s not as if they are the only franchise that has thought of it; they just have the nerve to do it. The best thing they have going for them is that there is no way Goody wil even attempt to touch this smoking turd.

Maybe Brady, besides have millions and millions already, realizes that 27 Million over 3 years is more money than normal people will have in 3 of their lifetimes and knows that money is not the answer to happiness. So many people in our country and even more so in professional sports have lost this treasured rule of happiness and will forever chase the dollar. Hats off to Brady.

I really do not like Brady, I mean I really really do not like him. That being said, the man has earned in the ballpark of $200 million on the field + his ad income + the bank of his wife. He is not going to be begging on the street anytime soon. If he wants to take less money than he is worth for a few years to increase the chances his team can add a few key role players to increase the chances of a SB victory so he can ride off into the sunset with the millions he already has-why is this a huge deal? If I was in his position and my only true goal was to win another SB, I would just play for $1 and allow for the rest of the team to be stacked. More power to him.

The people who will bitch about this are the other players who play for money as opposed to a love of the game. The Patriots fill their roster will smart hard working players who feeling winning is more important than being the highest paid at their position.

I am one of the biggest anti-pats football fans. However, in my opinion I believe Brady is more committed to his legacy by winning championships than to money which he already has plenty. He doesn’t seem like the type that made it rain many times and just wasted his millions already and is set for life. As much as I hate (loathe) saying this, I wish more of these greedy athletes did this for the good of their teams.

What are they going to say next…the Hoodie made Tom Brady do endorsements for Uggs so he could save the Patriots $3 million in cap room a year? Brady can easily make that money back through endorsements or he can always fall back on his “sugar mama.” I don’t think TB12 is hurting for money.

Ever think that maybe Brady is happy in NE, and he realizes that $27Mill is more than he’d ever need to live the rest of his life, let alone the other tens/hundreds of millions of dollars he’s already earned?

“Maybe, in the end, the explanation is that, given his wife’s obscene earnings, he’s willing to take a lot less money in order to help that Pats stack the deck for another Super Bowl run or two.”

This post should being, and end, right here. I’m a Dolphins fan, and this sucks for the rest of the AFC East, but how much money does a family need? They just built a castle (with a moat), and have enough money for 100 lifetimes. Tom knows in order to surpass Montana as GOAT, he needs (at least) one more, and he’s showing he’ll do whatever it takes to get there.

Maybe he just wants a shot at a couple more rings. It’s not like he is hurting for money with his endorsements, previous contracts and likelihood of being an analyst when he retires if he chooses. Oh yeah, and he has a smokin’ hot wife who also makes millions annually. Brady doesn’t need a large contract to prove himself, 5 rings would do that.

I’m a Pat’s fan, but i think it’s obvious there is an unwritten understanding that this deal will be reworked prior to the 2015 season if he’s still functioning as a tier 1 QB(or close). Little doubt that having a spouse that earn’s over $40 mil a yr allows him to do this sort of thing. But, as a Pat’s fan, glad he did it.

Left unreported by the media is the fact that Brady is STILL going to count around $15MM to the cap in those last 3 years.

Why is it so crazy for Brady to recognize that he won’t be the QB he was in his prime as he reaches 40 and thus doesn’t merit the kind of money he made when he was at his best.

C’mon Mike, why do you have to question Brady doing the “right thing”. Instead you SHOULD be writing posts wondering why Brees and Manning felt it necessary to take the last dime from the Saints and Broncos.

Ridiculous accusations. Brady just built a $20 million home. His wife makes over $50 million a year. He has made well over $100 million in his NFL career. Maybe he just decided that he has more money than he knows what to do with, and would rather just a few more Super Bowl rings than a few million dollars to just pad his already enormous bank account.

Now dont get me wrong I cant stand the Pats BUT fair play to Tom Brady.

I mean he must have a fortune in the bank already, he’ll never spend that in his lifetime, he’ll have huge endorsement deals when he retires, his wife earns an utter fortune. Again they cant spend all that money so Brady has been sensible and taken a lesser deal in order for the team to sign better players and make another run at the Superbowl before he retires.

At the end of the day when hes 60 years old and sat in his rocking chair he’ll just be interested in the Superbowl rings and not the 300 mill in the bank.

I’m stunned more players dont do this, Peyton Manning doesnt need the money, but it always seems an ego thing ‘biggest contract in the league’ they want.

Instead money nowadays in the NFL is ridiculous and its embarassing seeing the greed by some of these players. Then in the offseason they’re pictured with poor families in Africa, ridiculous and some of these athletes have an utter fortune. Hypocrisy

If i was an NFL star in my 30’s with 100+ mill in the bank i would be fine taking a ‘low’ deal of 450k a year (still great money) in order for my team to make a run at the SB.

“Still, teams and agents are looking at the numbers and wonder what else could be going on. Whispers of a side deals already have begun in league circles, even though there is (and likely will be) no proof of a wink-nod arrangement that will see Brady get compensated in other ways.”

Come on, Florio, you are a better lawyer than that. Do you have any citations? Do you even have any anonymous sources?

Not a Patriots fan, but this sound like you are trying to make a story where there is none.

And to those that think the Ravens have a shot at repeating, let’s see how many veterans they get rid of and how much Flacco is getting paid first.

Brady did take a hometown discount for the good of the team, but for this closet hater to imply it was a shady deal is disingenuous at best. Brady got 60 mil, GUARANTEED. When players go into their last contracts, that’s the only number that matters. The rest is for the benefit of the agents. PManning signed a 5 yr 96 mil deal with Denver, but it was essentially a one yr deal for 18 mil, followed by a 2 yr deal for 40 guaranteed(at the Bronco’s option), followed by 2yrs@19mil each(non guaranteed), that he will probably never see.

We’ve become so conditioned to professional athletes always saying they want, need and deserve more that when one says he is willing to take less there are many that think there is something odd going on.

Bottom line is he now gets more guaranteed money, plays out his career in one place, assists the team in resigning or acquiring talent to help him in his quest to “Just Win”, probably helps his best friend get a contract and thus gets to keep playing with him, and solidifies his stauture in New England even more which will help him after he retires in continuing endorsement deals.

Of course other teams and agents will complain and publically put the deal down. They are either dealing with less talented guys on their roster who won’t be as flexible, don’t have a leaders on their team who are focused on winning or they have client’s, present and future, whose bar have just been lowered.

So maybe for once, instead of bitching and moaning about professional athletes who just don’t get the fact that they get paid large sums of money to play a sport, a gig many of us would love to have, perhaps we should applaud a guy who managed to look after his own present and long term interests while still helping his team, his teammates, his owner and the fans get what they want which is a better opportunity to win Super Bowls.

2dollarpbrs says:
Feb 26, 2013 9:12 AM
If this is cheating, as some of you internet monkeys claim, then the Denver Donkeys “cheated” when they won their Super Bowls……………just sayin’

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It’s well documented that the broncos did cheat to win the 2 superbowls. The league did fine and sanction the Broncos but much like the Patriots they did not take away past success (the SB win) despite ample evidence of cheating.

The league has never voided wins, no matter what the reason.

I remember when the Panthers beat the Eagles back in the playoffs several years ago (2004?) that 2 years later a steroid doctor got busted and his clients included the entire offensive line + kicker from that Panthers team. By then most had retired or were bit players on other teams so the league essentially did nothing.

The only downside to cheating is getting caught before you accomplish something. There’s really no downside to getting caught after the end of the season as a team.

More money for the free agents… more money for the young players… more chances to get a fourth ring… still playing for a good team in a place where everyone like him… and… AND! No need to give money to Gisele in case of a divorce…

Oh… and do I need to say that in 2017, Brady will be 40 years old? You can’t pay 20 millions $ for a 40 years old man…

Occam’s razor – among competing hypotheses the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. Tom Brady likes to win and wants his 4th Super Bowl to match Montana. It’s not more complicated than that.

Until all of the dust settles, IMO, no one here knows what Brady’s contract is or isn’t.

Those people who think the Patriots walk on water and are noble, and don’t think for a minute that the Patriots couldn’t do anything wrong, are buying into the reports of the contract hook, line, and sinker.

Those people who buy into the argument that the Patriots are cheaters due to Spygate, aren’t going to give the Patriots any benefit of a doubt.

When it is all said and done, I don’t know what to think of the reported contract. I do think there is more to it that we just don’t know about.

I think the haters of the Patriots on this website should look at the commenters before them on this post and realize how dumb and un-creative their “Belicheat” and Spygate comments are. I guess since this is an article about the Patriots they naturally are cheating though as they do in everything. Morons.

The simple fact is that Brady has been poking holes in the Prisoner’s dilemma for years. He knows that if he takes a bit of a pay cut, he’ll end up surrounded by better talent that will actually benefit everyone more — likely including even more endorsement deals and income for him on the back end to make up the difference. Plus he’s less likely to get pummeled in the backfield if he has a great o-line, WRs who can get out of their cuts and open on time, etc, so he’ll have a longer and better career.

Folks who squint at this and call it cheating remind me of people who can’t figure out how something works so assume it must be dark magic.

Brady makes millions on endorsement deals. I mean I understand that it looks like his extension is setting a standard which is good. But guys like Flacco aren’t getting the same type of endorsement as Brady. Not to mention Brady’s wife alone pulls in $30m a year. So Brady is set, he plays for the love of the game and it pains me to say that with respect.

Gee, how surprising is it that greedy agents can’t begin to grasp the Brady contract or teams that have to deal with greedy agents and their greedy clients also have problems understanding it? Next step, the players union demands an investigation.

Did you guys read your own articles? Seriously, with the money from this extension and spreading out what he had left on his previous contract, he’s making 13-15MM per year until the end, right? Not 9MM. Still a bargain, for sure, but it’s also now mostly guaranteed for him… not bad for someone to be getting guaranteed money from ages 38-40.

Agent Don Yee becomes the laughing stock of all Agents. There has to be a side deal or Don Yee will soon be out of the business because no players are going to want to have a guy who gets a top quarterback less than half his worth.

Is Tom Brady improving? There was a reason that Green Bay moved to Aaron Rogers before Brett Favre was ready to retire. Brady may be playing at an elite level when he is 40 but I doubt he will be worth $20 m per year. The fact that Brady has been willing to restructure his contracts makes it more likely that he will retire a Patriot but there is also a very good possibility that there will come a time when the franchise views his inevitable decline as a deal breaker.

I’m pretty sure Brady is just as sick of the “no rings since Spygate” comments as the fans are. He wants to shut people up by winning another one.

Of course people are going to rumble about side deals and suitcases of money. The agents and other players are pissed that a top player is taking a pay cut. Players have been demanding more and more $$ despite the cap not growing. This deal makes them look greedy and helps bump down market value on other QBs/players.

Owners should be thankful. It’s about time someone started lowering the amount superstars get paid. You can’t win a SB with one player.

I also hope the Pats stop restructuring Brady’s contracts. It had finally caught up with them(he had cap hits of around $20 mill the next 2 years). Now the cap hits for the life of this contract are really reasonable if they leave it alone. I think the biggest is $18 mill in 2017, but the growth will likely be offset by a slightly increased salary cap

Oooh, the union and the agents are going to HATE this move. That’s tough poop. I’m sick of seeing player salaries escalate every year as though there is no ceiling and they’ve simply come to expect 1. more money every year regardless of the economy, and 2. at least a dollar more than the last player signed for. Eat it, you stupid lawyers and player rump kissers. It’s time the salaries started coming DOWN, unless teams want to play to half-empty stadiums.

For all the patriot fans that say “he did it for unselfish reasons or it was a smart move by bellicheck” then why didn’t they consider this when signing the orignal deal. You make a deal then two years later you try to fix it and say it was unselfish?

Brady is already loaded with his career earnings and endorsements and his wife infinitely moreso. He doesn’t need a gigantic contract, he’s trying to win another superbowl. Of course everyone thinks there is something else sinister going on. Because it’s unfathomable for a an elite level franchise player to display an act of selflessness once in a while in order to help the team.

Well… I am sure that Joe Flacco and his Agent are not at all pleased with Tom’s decision…

I look at it this way… If you add up all of the money TB has made in his career, he has made 10’s of millions… He doesn’t need the money. He wants another ring… that’s it… plain and simple.
I think it was spelled out for him that if he went max contract, they would suck the next four seasons.

First ballot Hall of Famer takes a pay cut to help his team, while my team’s QB gets a big extension and then shrivels up like a strip of bacon against the Pats…twice!
Don’t bad-mouth Brady to me. The guy’s a player!

He only did what James, Wade and Bosch did for the Miami Heat. Since all the salary records must be made public to the league office, how could he cheat? He took less money to enable the team to sign or keep other top players. Nothing wrong with that, he wants to win, just like the Miami Heat players. They are gaming the system, maybe other top players on other teams should do the same thing.

On one hand, I am willing to believe that he is willing to part with money for a better chance to win. On the other hand, I will not be surprised if he winds up with a minority stake in the team after he retires. Or a big endorsement deal with Gillette.

Why the remark about Gisele making “an obscene amount of money”? She’s a top model and gets paid as such. What difference does a player’s wife’s earnings make? Sounds like a wee bit of jealousy. Stick to the facts. Brady is happy with the contract so what’s the big deal?

For all the patriot fans that say “he did it for unselfish reasons or it was a smart move by bellicheck” then why didn’t they consider this when signing the orignal deal. You make a deal then two years later you try to fix it and say it was unselfish?

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his last contract wasn’t the issue

the issue was the fact that they restructured his contract repeatedly, kept pushing $$ into future years to make room. it finally caught up with them, which is why it seems like he had huge salaries the next 2 years. he played for like the vet minimum+bonus last year to make space, with bonus $$ hitting over the next 2 years

his contracts have always been fair. now he’s being downright generous and saving the team’s cap. his salary is spaced really evenly over the next 5 years now

You know it’s funny how people love to toss the “tainted” word around a lot when it comes to the Patriots and Saints Superbowls but you don’t hear that word used much to describe the Broncos when what they did probably had a bigger impact on them winning championships than the Pats and Saints.

I’m sure if anyone is sour on this it’s the agents. They love the headline deals with insane salaries. Of course, the reality of many of those deals is the guy gets cut mid way through the deal when his salary balloons.

Would everyone feel better if he was scheduled to make 30M in the third year of the deal? At which point Brady would either restructure or retire.

There’s something else that we might want to consider. Frist of all Tom Brady is in a position most QB’s in the NFL are not. His wife makes a lot of money too. The second issue is that he already has three SP rings. And, just looking at the league I don’t think anybody is going to catch him in that reguard. Maybe Ben in Pitt may get one more. He’s now closing in on Drew Breeze record for most TD passes in consecutive games. And, he’s pretty much healthy. It could be that he wants to leave the game without many of the issues other players have. I thought last year that if he would have won another title that he might call it quits. It could be that he’s coming to the end of the road. And, that the Pats already know that he won’t be around for the end of the contact.